Digital Manipulation

Does a real photo show former first daughter Sasha Obama wearing a MAGA hat? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that she was ever photographed wearing a MAGA hat. Evidence shows the image is an altered version of a photograph first published online by a celebrity news agency on July 22, 2025. It also shows signs of…

Is a photo that shows Melania Trump smiling and standing next to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell authentic? No, that's not true: Online detection tools flagged the image as likely digitally altered and likely AI-generated. One rated it as 97 percent likely to be digitally edited. The claim appeared in an April 10, 2026, post on X.com by the account…

Is this a real video of an airstrike on a U.S. base in Qatar? No, that's not true: An online AI video detection tool determined that the clip is 83.3 percent "likely to be AI-generated." A separate tool identified typical AI "hallucinations," including a distorted U.S. flag, static lighting during the blast, unrealistic smoke and debris interactions, and unusually clear…

Is a video showing Erling Haaland, a Manchester City footballer, reciting the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, and converting to Islam, real? No, that's not true: An online AI video detection tool determined that the clip is 100% "likely to be AI-Generated." A separate also tool found that the video showed signs of having been created or modified using…

Does a photo show an Iranian missile with "In memory of the victims of Epstein Island" written on it? No, that's not true: An online AI image detection tool found that the image shows signs of digital manipulation, with portions edited or generated using Google AI. A "clean" version of the image without any writing on it also dates back…

Does a video show a real fire on board a U.S. destroyer or aircraft carrier? No, that's not true: An online AI image detection tool rated the image as 100% likely to be AI-generated. A separate analysis found it has several hallmarks of AI-generated or digitally simulated content, such as unusually uniform smoke and fire, distorted aircraft shapes, unrealistic water-heat…

Does a viral video include real courthouse footage covering a $3 million lawsuit brought by the family of a man who died from electrocution while trying to steal "electric copper wire" from a vehicle charging station? No, that's not true: The shot purporting to show "Darius Johnson's" family was real, but was taken from the coverage of an unrelated case.…

Is the video of Michelle Wu calling Donald Trump an "asshole" in a high pitched voice authentic? No, that's not true: The video is footage taken from Boston Mayor Wu's press conference where she spoke about federal immigration issues that was posted on C-SPAN and local news. In the original video Wu did not name-call the president or speak about…

Is the video of Amy Klobuchar commenting on the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle jeans and where she mentions "perfect titties" authentic? No, that's not true: Klobuchar wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times calling the video "A.I. deepfake." The fake was built using a video posted by the Minnesota senator on her official YouTube account from a hearing…

On June 3, 2025 I was invited to make a statement during a public hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium organized by the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield. The hearing was titled "Enforcement of the EU Digital Rulebook and political advertising in the context of foreign interference: understanding Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) and disinformation…